RVCC 2019 NECHE Self-Study

may lead to formal revisions of course outlines submitted to Curriculum Team in order to
change the course objectives. Some examples of changes made as a result of course
evaluations include changing textbooks to better suit the level of the course instruction
(AHLT 123R – Functional Kinesiology); and changing formats of classes from hybrid to face
to face (MLTC 113R – Clinical Chemistry). Student evaluations had a major impact on
revisions to the HSV 120R – Learning & Behavior course. This course was used by both the
Early Childhood Education and Social Services programs. Specific student feedback on
course evaluations indicated that this format was not effective, and students indicated they
were uncertain why both majors were required to take the course together as they did not
feel as though they were acquiring specific information on topics that they needed.
Changes were made to course readings and assignments, but the same concerns appeared
on subsequent course evaluations. With the revision of the Social Services Program, this
course was eliminated from the program of study and the key content from this course
was distributed into other required Social Service courses. The course remained in the
Early Childhood program and was renamed and recoded as ECE 120R – Learning,
Behavior, and Positive Guidance in the Fall of 2017. During Fall 2017 meetings with
advisees, the ECE Program Director had none of the previous complaints that were
associated with this course. The process for updating a course outline (including course
objectives) is described in Standard Four. Beginning in Fall of 2017, the Curriculum Team
has been working to ensure that competencies on the course objectives are measurable
and not simply learning objectives or the table of contents from a textbook. Course
outlines are expected to be reviewed by Program Directors every 5 years to ensure they
are up to date and relevant. Most programs are in compliance with this request. Those
programs that were not in compliance recently included Business, Accounting, and the
Liberal Arts department. The new Business and Accounting Program Directors are
working on updating their courses with a final completion goal of Fall 2019. A new Interim
Program Director for Liberal Arts was hired in Fall of 2018 and one of her current projects
is to evaluate and update the English course outlines.
Graduation Satisfaction Surveys are administered to all completing students and evaluate
the effectiveness of all areas of the College. Information helps to inform administrators
and directors about their areas of focus and influences changes to program and college
orientations, course scheduling/delivery methods, and advising practices. The
dissemination of the results of this survey have been inconsistent in recent years. The
IVPSA is developing a plan to consistently administer this survey and provide results to the
necessary parties.
Many programs undergo national accreditation and are constantly using evaluation data to
ensure they are meeting the standards of their national accreditation agencies. Even
programs without national accreditation utilize their professional standards in order to
prepare students for the workforce. For example, the Massage Therapy Program, although
not accredited because the profession does not require graduation from an accredited
program, utilizes the “Massage Therapy Body of Knowledge” to guide its curriculum.
Another example are the programs that relate to Computer Technology, which have been
designed around industry standard certification and utilize Cisco’s educational curriculum
which prepares students for the Cisco CCENT and Cisco CCNA certifications upon
completion. These standards guide and inform program work, and feedback from advisory
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